Guided Meditation: The Sacred Grove

Some news first: The website OneMindVillage has asked me to write a regular series of articles on a bi-weekly basis on Reiki and the teachings and philosophy of Reiki Jin Kei Do. My book will be featured there along with the work and contributions of some very notable teachers and leaders in the Mind/Body/Spirit field such as Ken Wilber, Paul Lonely and Stuart Davis. It is a very upmarket and professional site with a serious and studious approach to its subject matter. If you haven't seen the site yet it would be worth while checking it out I think and certainly to keep abreast of my ramblings on Reiki and the teachings of Reiki Jin Kei Do. Chances are though that you will find plenty of other stuff on there that I am sure will interest you also.

This week in response to requests, I thought it might be nice to share with you a Guided Meditation. For those that are not familiar with the practice of meditation these sort of guided journeys are a useful tool. They are of course no substitute for a proper engagement with meditation practice but as a preliminary they are a useful tool enabling the practitioner to relax fully and quieten the mind somewhat. In giving the mind a focus in this way a step is taken in the direction of a full engagement with a method that can have long lasting beneficial effects - such as with the meditations taught within Reiki Jin Kei Do. Guided meditations are only a tool and need to be put down once their usefulness has been spent. Having said that however, they are a really nice way to simply relax.

Try reading this back and making a recording of it. If you have some nice background music that you could put on also, that would be great. Or perhaps you are a Reiki teacher and might find this useful to use at the start of a class. It often helps to quieten students and orientate them to what is to follow during the class itself.

Check your physical position. Make sure that you are comfortable and relaxed and that your feet are planted firmly on the ground. Take a few deep breaths and allow all tension to fall away from your body. Feel relaxing waves moving up from the soles of your feet, through your legs, your hips and up through your body. Your back is becoming relaxed. Feel the tension draining away from your arms, your shoulders and your neck. Feel your scalp relaxing, your eyes and your cheeks. Let your jaw open slightly and relax.

(Pause)

Breathe more deeply and feel you body filling with light. Pouring into your physical being through your Crown chakra and filling up every part of your being. Feel yourself becoming more and more a part of this light as you breathe in and out.

(Pause)

Now, in your imagination see before you a still stretch of water. As the still waters reflect the sky so the calm soul, the soul at peace, reflects the image of the Universal Mind. Be still. Be still within. Be tranquil. Be at peace. Feel the beautiful peace that this still water brings to your soul. See the light of the Sun reflected on its surface.

(Pause)

Now, in your imagination see a little boat and in your mind step into the boat and find that it conveys you, almost without any sense of motion along the path of the Sun which is reflected on the water. Put your hand over the side of the boat and feel the cool water.

(Pause)

The boat takes you to a shore. You look up and see before you a beautiful garden. You step upon the shore and into the garden and feel cleansed and light. You find that your feet are bare and you are led right into the very centre of the garden. You are filled with the sunlight and with joy.

(Pause)

Notice that at the centre of the garden there is a grove of trees. A sacred grove. See the branches swaying in the breeze. Notice the leaves just breaking out, their vibrant colour and the fresh smell of the air. Go into this grove; your sacred space.

(Pause)

Feel the strength of the trees that surround you. Feel their power as it connects with something deep inside of you - your oneness with all of creation. Feel the Earth breathing beneath your feet. Feel its strength. Sit for a moment and feel your connection with the world of nature as the sunlight filters through the branches of the trees. You are at peace.

(Pause)

Now within your sacred grove, within your meditation, close your eyes. You can still feel your connection to the world of nature but concentrate your mind on your feet. Feel the energies of the Earth rising though the soles of your feet, travelling up your legs, passing through your Root chakra, your Sacral chkara, Navel, Heart, Throat, Third Eye and Crown chakras. Feel your body empowered and invigorated by this energy. Feel that you are filling with light. Your body is glowing with light. Stay like this for a few moments feeling the Body of Light that surrounds you and fills you.

(Pause)

When you are ready, open your eyes within your grove and become once again aware of the protective circle of trees and the cool Earth beneath you. Thank the spirits of nature, of the trees and the Earth beneath your feet for the blessing of the peace that you have found here.

(Pause)

You leave the sacred grove and make your way back through the garden to the boat on the shore. You step into the boat and find yourself drifting back to consciousness. The boat and the water slowly fade and become a memory of beauty.

(Pause)

Feel your conscious self becoming first aware of your physical body. You become aware of your breathing. Slowly you become aware of the room that you are in. You may open your eyes in your own time when you are ready.

I hope that you find this to be useful. It is a meditation that I have used with my own students on and off for the past 10 years or so and they love it! Do please let me know how you get on with it if you do use it yourself.

Many blessings,

Steve